The methods of manufacturing hard and semi-hard cheeses have traditionally been very different from the methods of manufacturing softer cheeses such as mozzarella, scamorza, and provolone. The softer cheeses listed above are classified as pasta filata cheeses. Pasta filata cheeses can be distinguished from other cheeses having similar characteristics by the cooking and stretching steps that are part of their manufacture. Pasta filata cheeses are cooked in hot water and stretched or kneaded to form plastic masses of molten cheese. These masses are then formed into the shapes in which the cheese will be sold. The cooking and stretching steps of the pasta filata method are unique to these softer types of cheeses. Heretofore this method has not been thought to be applicable to manufacturing Swiss-type cheeses.
The manufacture of hard and semi-hard pressed cheeses, and particularly Swiss cheese, begins with adding bacterial cultures to a vat of warmed milk. Adding an enzyme mixture then coagulates the milk. The coagulated milk is then "cut" into curds. The unsolidified liquid, called whey, is removed from the vat and the curd is cooked at an elevated temperature in the neighborhood of 120.degree. F. for a short period of time of approximately 30 minutes. All excess whey is removed. The curd is placed in molds to form blocks of cheese. The blocks of cheese are also pressed in the molds to remove any whey that might yet be present in the curd. The blocks of cheese are then placed in a salt brine solution, allowing the salt to penetrate the cheese. Once the cheese has soaked for a predetermined length of time, it is removed from the brine vats and allowed to dry. Once dry, the blocks of cheese are sealed in plastic bags and placed in a ripening cellar to permit the bacterial cultures working in the cheese to give the cheese its flavor and, in the case of Swiss cheese, to form the familiar holes in the cheese. The specific process followed for each type of hard or semi-hard cheese varies greatly as the method of making the cheese has a dramatic impact on the desired characteristics of finished cheese. The process outlined above, however, is generally followed for cheeses of the Swiss cheese variety.
The process used to make a Swiss-type cheese requires special equipment, such as presses and brine tanks. The pasta filata method of making cheeses is much more efficient. Mozzarella is an example of a cheese that is produced using the pasta filata method and is described below as a means of distinguishing the pasta filata method from the methods used with traditional hard and semi-hard cheeses.
There are two basic ways to make mozzarella: direct acidification of the milk to form the curds or by means of the culture/rennet method. In both methods, raw milk is pasteurized and then coagulated to form curds. Once the curds reach a pH of about 5.2 they are mixed with hot water and formed into a taffy-like plastic mass. This formation of a plastic taffy-like mass is unique to cheeses in the "pasta filata" family, such as mozzarella, scamorza, and provolone. When the proper smooth, elastic consistency is reached, the plastic mass is formed by machine or by hand into balls. The loaves are placed or positioned in cold water so that they maintain their shapes while they cool. They are then salted and packaged. It is a short making process, usually less than 8 hours from raw milk to finished cheese.
The pasta filata method is a preferred method of manufacturing cheeses, given that it is very adaptable to modern high speed processing methods. However, it has not, until now, been considered useable for the production of hard and semi-hard cheeses such as Swiss (Emmentaler) or Baby Swiss type cheeses. The invention herein disclosed is for a pasta filata method of manufacturing Swiss-type cheeses.
Furthermore, in general, cheese-making facilities are set up to produce a single type of cheese, e.g. pasta filata cheeses, as opposed to Swiss-type cheeses, etc. An added benefit of the pasta filata method is that it requires no machinery change-over when a factory switches to the production of Swiss type cheeses from pasta filata type cheeses. The facility can, using the pasta filata method and the pasta filata production lines, instantaneously switch production from pasta filata cheeses to traditional hard and semi-hard cheeses, a possibility that was heretofore unknown.
Accordingly, it is the general objective of the present invention to produce traditional hard and semi-hard cheeses by the pasta filata method herein disclosed.